From Crisis Mode to Care Culture:
Notes from Shannon CEO/Founder SMC
Reflection Questions We Keep Coming Back To
- How is your team holding up—do you know when burnout is hitting?
- In what ways have you simplified systems to empower people rather than overwhelm them?
- What flexible models could you introduce to help your team rest without losing traction?
- How do you lean on peer support and mentorship to spread accountability and care?
What Is Burnout?
If you’ve worked in the nonprofit sector long enough, you know the feeling: tired, stretched thin, and disconnected from the mission you care so deeply about.
- It typically includes:
- Emotional exhaustion
- Cynicism or detachment from work
- A sense of ineffectiveness or lack of accomplishment
It’s not just you. The State of Nonprofits reports from the Centre for Effective Philanthropy tell us that in 2024, 95% of nonprofit leaders named burnout as a significant concern, and by 2025, that concern hasn’t let up. What’s shifted is the context—burnout is no longer just about overwork. It’s about existential pressure.
We’re navigating political attacks on our communities, trauma responses from ongoing injustice, and deep uncertainty about the future. For many immigrant-serving organizations, the threat of ICE raids has reignited fear and retraumatization among both staff and communities. The weight of bearing witness—and being targeted—adds layers of emotional exhaustion that can’t be untangled from our day-to-day work.
Burnout is no longer the edge case. It’s becoming the norm—and that should concern all of us.
What’s Fueling the Breakdown
- Delayed reimbursements mean organizations float payroll on credit.
- Wage ceilings make it impossible to compete with the private sector.
- Chronic crisis mode—from COVID to racial injustice to climate impacts—has depleted our reserves.:
Reframe Funding Conversations
Ask for what it really takes. Unrestricted, multi-year support is the foundation of sustainability.
- We coach our clients to tell funders clearly and confidently:
- Sustaining people is sustaining programs.
- Investing in fair pay, wellness, and realistic pacing isn’t a luxury. It’s how missions survive long term.
Redesign Roles for Flexibility
One-size-fits-all roles don’t serve a diverse workforce.
People come to this work with different strengths, needs, and life realities—including those who are disabled, neurodivergent, caring for loved ones, managing chronic illness, or navigating trauma recovery. If we want to build truly inclusive organizations, our roles must reflect that complexity.
- Redesign jobs with flexibility in mind:
- Part-time options
- Job shares
- Seasonal cycles
- Hybrid or remote structures
Simplify Internal Systems
- To reduce the hidden drain:
- Ask regularly: “Does this task move our mission forward—or just maintain the bureaucracy?”
- Host quarterly operations check-ins: Surface what’s slowing the team down, and name what could be easier.
- Eliminate multi-step processes that don’t serve a clear purpose—especially those inherited without reflection.
- Empower team members to make everyday decisions within clear boundaries—build trust into your workflows.
Sabbaticals Are Not a Luxury—They’re a Necessity
Executive burnout is hitting a breaking point. A 2022 study by the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund found that 70% of Executive Directors considered leaving due to chronic stress and overwork.
This sector cannot afford to keep losing its leaders.
Sabbaticals are not vacations. They’re structured, restorative times for leaders to reflect, heal, and return with renewed vision.
- Best practices include:
- Building sabbaticals into executive contracts
- Planning leadership transitions in advance
- Preparing interim leadership with clarity and trust
- Using sabbatical time as a stretch opportunity for staff
Normalize Recovery
- Rest isn’t what happens after burnout—it’s what prevents it.
- Schedule mandatory days off following large events and campaign launches. If your team gave everything to make it happen, give them time to recover.
- Evaluate the true cost of events by including staff hours in your ROI calculations—not just hard costs. What looks like a success on paper may be draining your team in practice.
- Encourage mental health days without requiring explanation. Normalize care before a crisis.
- Design low-intensity weeks around natural seasonal lulls to rebalance energy and prevent long-term fatigue.
- Staff regularly hitting the ceiling on PTO isn’t something to applaud. It’s a red flag and indicates that your workload expectations need a reset.
Expand Capacity Without Overstretching Staff
This season is asking too much from too many nonprofit teams. If your people are maxed out, let us help carry some of the weight. At SMC, we’re offering discounted hourly packages to help ease the load, with expert support in fundraising, data visualization, grant writing, annual report design, and strategic planning. Regular rate is $100/hour—but for a limited time, we’re offering 25% off:
- Available packages:
- 10 hours – $750
- 20 hours – $1,500
- 6-month retainer (5 hrs/week) – $1,500/month
References
About Us
At SMC, we partner with organizations on the frontlines of change. We’re not consultants who write reports and disappear—we’re embedded thought partners who bring strategy, storytelling, and infrastructure support when it matters most.